It’s true, in the past there was interest from Barcelona, but I’d have been a ball boy there.
I didn’t make any mark on Barcelona. It was a blip in my career in terms of what I did as a coach.
My dream is to play for Barcelona.
Neymar will not return to Barcelona. It was a very difficult situation for him there.
I fell for a Spanish woman and followed her to Spain. We got married there, and then I got involved in the Spanish film industry and got the material for ‘Barcelona.’ It was my way of breaking into the film industry.
I have followed Newcastle my whole life. I had two Newcastle shirts when I was little. It was unusual; most people choose a team like Manchester United or Barcelona, but for me, it has always been Newcastle.
I don’t understand people who travel purely gastronomically, who book a Michelin-starred restaurant three months in advance and suddenly find themselves in Copenhagen or Barcelona with a zeitgeist plate of snail porridge.
That a team like Barcelona thinks of you is a source of pride and forces you to work harder.
When you play against Barcelona and other great teams in the world, you can lose. It happens.
If I have children, and they were supporters of Madrid, it would be very unlucky, but they would be brought up knowing about Barcelona.
Why would I accept to earn less money to play for Barcelona? Why are players the ones supposed to sacrifice themselves?
It hurts me that Puyol is leaving Barcelona, and I wish him well. For me, he was always the fire that the team needed.
If you play for a team like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or PSG, the aim is always to win the Champions League.
I have helped Barcelona win titles and I want to do exactly the same thing at Chelsea, because ultimately we are all here to win things.
If you are in the Premier League or at Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich, you are at an end station.
Barcelona has always had calm coaches.
My best has to be for Barcelona against Villarreal in 2006 – that is the one I am asked most about, and it is the one I am most proud of. Xavi chipped the ball to me, I chested it down, twisted and hit an overhead kick. It was the final goal in a 4-0 win.
I made my debut very early and a lot of things happened to me at a young age, but I was there for the best time in Barcelona’s history and played with the best players in the world.
I know the pressure of being Barcelona’s goalkeeper, but I’m here to play my football and the football Barca want to play. I’m not afraid.
I’ve been a Gunner for life. They play similar football to Barcelona. So ball movement and player movement is important to me in basketball; I think I picked it up from watching those guys.
I’d love to be popular in Barcelona. That sounds like a fun job.
Barcelona have a unique approach to the game based on specific types of footballers playing together as one.
If I would have had the absolute will, I would have been a starting XI player at Barcelona or would have played 10 years for Real Madrid or Manchester United.
For the last decade, the last 50 years, Barcelona dominate football matches. I love the way they play.
I thank God for having played for four years in the best Barcelona team in history, but playing in the Premier League is also very important.
When Ronaldinho arrived at Barcelona, they did not win anything. After my arrival, we won it all.
You read things in the papers but I never really expected Barcelona to choose me. It all happened in a hurry.
I went to Spain with my brother when I was about 17. We stayed near Barcelona and it was terrible. There were floods and I ended up missing my flight home.
I left hurt because I think I fought hard to create a great history at Barcelona. I left with 23 titles in eight years.
There’s something special about racing in real streets. The ‘artificial’ circuits have a certain sameness to them. But every race conducted on real streets has a character of its own – Barcelona, Monaco, and now Long Beach.
For ‘Around the World in 80 Plates’ we got to travel all over, having what was like a cross between a culinary competition and races. And in each country we had a chef Ambassador. We went to London, Barcelona, Bologna, Hong Kong, Thailand, Morocco… It was amazing.
Every club has legends, and at Barcelona, Cruyff and Pep are going to be spoken about forever, knowing what they’ve achieved and in what style.
If Messi didn’t have it clearly in his head that Barcelona have a winning project, maybe he would go, but Barcelona are always looking to have a winning project.
When I was in Barcelona, people thought I would join them, but that’s not the case. Everyone knows that I think Barcelona is a beautiful club, but I don’t know if I should see my career as a city trip.
People travel north from Barcelona, not south.
It’s flattering to be linked to Barcelona: it means you’re playing well.
I’d like not only to test myself against Barcelona, but top teams from the other leagues.
Cities, too, are embracing digitization. Barcelona has installed in-ground parking sensors and launched connected public transportation as part of its Smart City strategy.
Having coached Ajax, Barcelona, the Netherlands, FC Bayern, and Manchester United like I did, it is difficult for any offer to be interesting.
Al Ain are among the absolute best in Asia. When explaining their place in football in this part of the world, they are compared with Barcelona or Real Madrid.
My role model was always Xavi Hernandez from Barcelona.
Id rather play Barcelona and out-possess them and out-score them than not.
I was really close to joining Barcelona, but in the end, it wasn’t to be.
I love coaching and I love Barcelona.
It’s my belief that Barcelona are successful because they have a number of youth teams alongside the first team. They are where it begins.
I told Cruyff I’d have given my little finger to have played for his team, but not just to play at Barcelona but for how they played, because I saw how the players enjoyed themselves.
Obviously, there are many clubs that make me dream, like Real Madrid or Barcelona.
I always try to start my weekend by running on the beach, which is great fun here in Barcelona.
I proved myself in Barcelona, and after I proved myself in Germany, I wanted to prove myself in England.
Barcelona is one of the best teams in the world.
English clubs should not be pleased to go to places like Barcelona and get away without a thrashing. They should be able to compete. They have the resources.
When I arrived at Barcelona and saw Messi’s face, and later Luis Suarez, I felt like it was a videogame.
I do not envisage going to Barcelona.
In England there’s a lot of money to create a great team like Barcelona.
There are a lot of teams that don’t want to play, that only want to defend against Barcelona, and that makes it difficult. We’re always looking for the open space. A lot of times we’ll face six defenders and four midfielders.
I really liked Stoichkov when he played at Barcelona. I played in his position then… more or less! I loved to watch him on matchdays because of the personality he showed team-mates and fans.
To see my name alongside the names I’ve looked up to all my life is crazy, Messi in particular. When I was younger I was a ball boy during a Barcelona and Chelsea match at Stamford Bridge and seeing him up close was amazing.
I’ve known Mark Hughes for half a lifetime. We joined Barcelona in the same summer of 1986, played together under Terry Venables and Luis Aragones, and have kept in touch ever since.
I will aim to become a No. 10 who can score goals. Just like Lionel Messi does for Barcelona.
It is my goal to stay with Barcelona for a long time and be successful here.
I am happy to play Barcelona in a one-off game, in a neutral venue. Why? Because Spanish teams are tricky.
There would have been no Barcelona, and a lot of other things besides, for me if I hadn’t signed for Celtic.
Barcelona is a very old city in which you can feel the weight of history; it is haunted by history. You cannot walk around it without perceiving it.
You wanted me to do what? That I say no a second time to Barcelona? It was impossible for me. I’m in a crazy club there, next to the best. Every year, the club is semi-finalist or finalist of the Champions League!
I didn’t leave Barcelona in the best way but I took the decision to leave and I don’t regret it. There were a few problems with the club – some misunderstandings – and so I decided to leave because I wanted to develop as a player.
I was quite nervous in my first week at Barcelona, but after that, I was relaxed.
The biggest thing that I’ve noticed since the move to Barcelona was announced is just how positive the comments have been. It was not just in the mainstream media, but also on social media.
Everyone knows I have a relationship with Barcelona.
We have to remember, Mourinho worked at Barcelona. He has good memories of Barcelona. The club did well when he was here.
If you want to keep up with the changes, then you have to watch as much football as you can. Live is the best way but also on television. All the best teams: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and now City. What are they doing? If possible, go and see them training. You can always learn.
